Brush adjusting system



Oct. 17, 1950 D. H. REEVES BRUSH ADJUSTING SYSTEM 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 16, 1945 2 M INVENTOR.

Oct. 17, 1950 D. H. REEVES BRUSH ADJUSTING SYSTEM 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 16, 1945 Quad/1M, INVENTOR.

BYMM-9 $14,,

' Filed June 16, 1945 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 1950 D. H. REEVES 2,526,419

BRUSH ADJUSTING SYSTEM 6 MW INVENTOR.

BY I M Patented Oct. 17, 1950 BRUSH ADJUSTING SYSTEM Donald H. Reeves, Dayton, Ohio, assignor to General Motors Corporation, Dayton, Ohio, a corporation of Delaware Application June 16, 1945, Serial No. 599,926

3 Claims.

This invention relates to an improved vacuum cleaner.

This application is related to my copending application S. N. 564,305, filed November 20, 1944, disclosing and claiming a suction'cleaner with a different form of drive wherein the disconnection of the agitator causes operation of the fan at a higher rate of speed. This application is also related to my copending application S. N. 564,306, filed November 20, 1944, now Patent No. 2,513,587, issued July 4, 1950, in which there is disclosed and claimed a suction cleaner wherein the agitator is automatically adjusted for height by a different system.

One object of this invention is to .provide an improved drive mechanism for transmitting power from the motor to the fan and the brush of a vacuum cleaner.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved arrangement for automatically adjusting the height of the brush.

Still another object of this invention is to provide an improved arrangement which automatically maintains the proper relationship between the floor nozzle, the surface to be cleaned, and the brush.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following 'iescription, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, wherein a preferred form of the present invention is clearly shown.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a plan view, with parts broken away, showing the arrangement of the parts within the vacuum cleaner housing;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view, with parts broken away, showing the arrangement of the nozzle height adjusting mechanism;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view showin a portion of the brush driving mechanism;

Fig. 4 shows a portion of the brush driving mechanism;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view showing the relationship of the brush operating gears;

Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic view showing the arrangement of the gears which are used for driving the brush and the fan; and

Figure 7 is a fragmentary sectional view showing the diaphragm construction on an enlarged scale.

Referring now to the drawings wherein I have shown a preferred form of a vacuum cleaner utilizing my improved mechanism, reference numeral I0 designates the main housing within which there is mounted a motor I! which is used 2 for operating the suction creating fan l4 and the brush IS. The fan [4 is mounted within a conventional shroud l 8 which has its inlet connected to the suction nozzle 28 and its outlet 22 arranged to discharge the dust laden air into a conventional vacuum cleaner bag (not shown) carried by the handle 24 in accordance with.

standard practice. The motor I! is protected from the dust laden air by the wall 25 which cooperates with the casing ill to connect the nozzle to the suction inlet of the fan.

The housing I0 is adapted to be supported on a pair of rear wheels 28 and a pair of front wheels 30. Each of the front wheels 30 is carried by a pivoted lever 32 (see Fig. 2) which is adapted to oscillate about a stationary pivot pin 34 carried by the side wall of the casing Ill. The lever 32 is connected to a suction pressure operated lever arm 36 by means of a connecting link 38 which is arranged as shown. The lever arm 36 is pivoted on a pin 46 also carried by the side wall of the casing l0. By virtue of the above described arrangement of levers, it is apparent that the oscillation of the lever arm 36 about the pin 40 will cause oscillation of the lever 32 about the pin 34 and that such oscillation is instrumental in raising and lowering the nozzle end of the cleaner relative to the surface to be cleaned. A separate lever arm 36 is. provided for each front wheel and the two lever arms 36 are connected together so as to operate in unison by means of the cross bar 44 (see Fig. 1) which is provided with a pair of forwardly extending arms 46 which areconnected to a pressure operated diaphragm arrangement 48 so as to cause the height of the nozzle to be adjusted in response to pressure changes operating on the diaphragm 48. The bottom side of the diaphragm 48 is subjected to a pressure corresponding to the pressure maintained within the suction nozzle whereas the upper side of the diaphragm 48 is subjected to a pressure corresponding to atmospheric pressure. The lower side of the diaphragm 48 is protected by a perforated, pan-shaped guard element 49. As shown in Figure 7 of the drawing, the diaphragm 48 comprises a flexible membrane 48a' which has its outer edge clamped between the flange 25a of the wall 25 and the upper flange of the pan-shaped guard element 49. The central portion of the flexible membrane 48a has its central portion clamped between a pair of metal plates 48b and 480 which are riveted together by means of rivets 48d as shown. The

handle 24 is preferably pivoted to the casing I0 ata point very close to or coinciding with the axis of the rear wheels so as not to interfere with the free operation of the nozzle height adjusting means. By virtue of the above described arrangement, it is obvious that if the suction inlet 20 is too close to the surface to be cleaned a high suction will be produced on the lower side of the diaphragm 48 and. this suction will operate through the members 44, 36, 38 and 32 to raise the nozzle away from the surface to be cleaned. The arrangement is such that the nozzle will be maintained at a height so as to maintain sub stantially uniform suction pressure at all times irrespective of the depth of the nap on the carpet being cleaned and irrespective of the amount or wear on the nap.

It has long been recognized that for most efficient use of the power available in the motor it is desirable to operate the suction creating fan at a much higher speed for off the floor cleaning than for on the floor cleaning and it is the purpose of my invention to provide an improved driving arrangement for producing the desired change in speed of the vacuum cleaner fan. The arrangement used automatically disengages the brush from the motor when the cleaner is arranged for off the floor cleaning and since a considerable amount of power is required for operating the brush it is desirable to discontinue operation of the brush in this manner.

Referring now to Fig. 6 wherein I have diagrammatically shown the mechanism for transmitting power from the motor to the brush I6 and the fan shaft I5, reference numerals 50 and 52 designate a pair of gears that are rotatably supported on the ends of the bell crank 54. The bell crank 54 is adapted to pivot about the stationary pivot pin 56 for a purpose to be described more fully hereinafter. The gear 50 has secured thereto a smaller gear 58 which meshes with a larger gear 60 which in turn drives the gear 62. The gear 62 is supported on the shaft 64 which, for purposes of illustration, has been shown as carrying a beveled gear 66 arranged in driving engagement with a corresponding beveled gear 68 mounted on the fan shaft I5. Helical gears are preferred in actual practice for quiet operation but other types may be used if desired.

The gear 60 is arranged in driving engagement with the gear 52 at all times and the gear 52 is arranged to be moved in and out of driving engagement with the gear 10 merely by oscillating the bell crank 54 about the stationary pin 56. The gear I is mounted on one end of the shaft I2 which has a gear I4 mounted on its other end. The gear 14 drives the gear 18 which ,in turn is arranged in driving engagement with the brush operating gear 80. The bell crank 54 is arranged as shown when it is desired to operate both'the fan and the brush. The number of teeth provided in the various gears is preferably such that in this position of the bell crank 54 the fan will operate a speed of approximately 5000 R. P. M. The motor I2 is a small high-speed series wound motor which is designed to operate at a speed of about 12,000 R. P. M. when the brush and fan are both in operation. The brush is arranged to be operated at a speed of approximately 1800 R. P. M. when it is in operation. In order to declutch the brush for off the floor cleaning purposes and at the same time increase the speed of the fan to a speed of approximately 8500 R. P. M., the bell crank 54 is oscillated so as to move the gear 52 out of driving engagement with the gear and into driving engagement with the gear I2 at the same time disengaging gear 0 from gear I2. This changing of the gears changes the gear ratio between the motor I2 and the fan.

The bell crank 54 may be operated by any convenient handle such as the handle 82. The gears 50, 52, 60, 62 and 10 are all mounted within the gear housing 84 located at the end of the motor I2 (see Fig. l). A bell crank operating lever 02 projects to the outside of the gear housing 84 for shifting the bell crank 54. It is apparent that in the above described arrangement, operation of the lever 82 serves the dual purpose of varying the speed of the fan at the same time disengaging the brush from the motor when the fan is operated at the high speed suitable for off the floor cleaning.

Referring to Figs. 3 and 4, reference numeral I00 designates a stationary gear casing within which the gears 18 and 80 are supported. The gear casing I00 is secured to the main cleaner casing I0 by means of one or more mounting lugs IOI. The gear 18 is supported on a stationary pin I02 whereas the gear. 80 is supported on a movable pin I04 which is drivingly connected to the brush IS. The movable pin I04 is journalled in a bearing element. I06 carried by the flexible diaphragm element I08 and the pivoted lever I09 whereby it is possible for the pin I04 to oscillate about the stationary pin IIO as a center so as to adjust the vertical height of the brush IS. The

diaphragm element I03 also serves to prevent the escape of lubricant from the gear casing I00. As shown in Fig. 4, the lever I09 is biased downwardly by means of a spring II2 which has its upper end arranged in engagement with the lug II4 provided on the gear casing I00. While the center of rotation of the .lever I09 does not exactly coincide with the stationary pivot pin I02, the difference is not enough to materially'interfere with the proper engagement between the gears 18 and was the lever I09 pivots about the point H0. The spring II2, together with the weight of the brush and associated parts, biases the brush downwardly into brushing engagement with the surface to be cleaned but, when the friction between the brush I6 and the surface to be cleaned becomes too great there will be a tendency for the gear 80 and the brush I6 to discontinue rotating about the pin I04. However, since the gear I8 continues to rotate, the gear 80 and its associated parts are bodily lifted by the gear "I8 until the resistance to the rotation has been with the corresponding brush supporting lever I22 located at the opposite end of the brush so as to cause both ends of the brush to be raised and lowered in unison.

In order to simplify this disclosure, the means for attaching a hose to the cleaner for off the floor cleaning has not been shown. Such a hose attachment may be connected directly to the nozzle opening 20 or may be connected directly to.the fan inlet in accordance with standard practice in many of the present day cleaners.

While the form of embodiment of the invention as herein disclosed constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted, as may come within the scope of the claims which follow.

What is claimed is as follows:

1. In a suction cleaner, a casing provided with a suction opening. a rotatable agitating mean-'5 located in said suction opening, a pivoted bearing support means for said agitating means having its pivoting axis located laterally with-respect to the agitating means to allow the agitating means to rise and fall within the suction opening, a driving gear having its axis" parallel to and adjacent to said pivoting axis, a driven gear upon said agitating means in meshing engagement with said driving gear, means for rotating said driving gear in the same direction of rotation as the pivoted bearing support means moves about its axis to lift the agitatin means relative to the suction opening, and a spring means acting-upon said bearing support means to oppose the lifting of said agitating means by the torque reaction of the driving gear upon the driven gear.

2. In a suction cleaner, a casing provided with a suction opening. a rotatable agitating means located in said suction opening, a pivoted hearing support means for said agitating means having its pivoting axis located laterally with respect to the agitating means to allow the agitating means to rise and fall within the suction opening, a driving gear having its axis parallel to and adjacent to said pivoting axis,

a driven gear upon'said agitating means in meshing engagement with said driving gear, means for rotating said driving gear in the same direction of rotation as the pivoted bearing support means moves about its axis to lift the agitating means relative to the suction opening, and a spring means acting upon said bearing support means to oppose the lifting of said agitating means by the torque reaction of the driving gear upon the driven gear, a lubricant housing for said driving and driven gear including a rigid portion fixed to said casing and a flexible portion sealed to said rigid portion and having a sealed connection with a bearing support portion of said pivoted bearing support means.

3. In a suction cleaner, a casing provided with a. suction-opening, a rotatable agitating means located in said suction opening, a movable hearing means for movably supporting said agitating means for movement up and down within said suction opening, a gear train for driving said agitating means, a lubricant housing for said gear train including a rigid portion fixed to said casing and a flexible portion sealed to said rigid portion and having a sealed connection with the adjacent movable bearing means.

' DONALD H. REEVES.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

' UNITED STATIS PATENTS Number Name Date 1,405,095 Brachhausen Jan. 31, 1922 1,519,192 Dempsey Dec. 16, 1924 1,537,946 Hume May 19, 1925 1,621,919 Bain Mar. 22, 1927 1,854,042 Kern Apr. 12, 1932 1,880,915 Dyer Oct. 4, 1932 1,925,354, White Sept. 5, 1933 2,148,656 Smellie Feb. 28, 1939 2,267,764 Taylor Dec. 30, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 564,459 Great Britain Sept. 28, 1944 

